Editing Nigeria (section)

=== Fall of the First Republic and Civil War ===
{{Main|1966 Nigerian coup d'état|1966 Nigerian counter-coup|Nigerian Civil War}}

The disequilibrium and perceived corruption of the electoral and political process led to two [[Coup d'état|military coups]] in 1966. The [[1966 Nigerian coup d'état|first coup was in January 1966]] and was led mostly by soldiers under Majors [[Emmanuel Ifeajuna]] (of the [[Igbo people|Igbo]] tribe), [[Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu]] ([[Northern Region, Nigeria|Northerner]] of [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern]] extraction) and [[Adewale Ademoyega]] (a Yoruba from the West). The coup plotters succeeded in assassinating Sir [[Ahmadu Bello]] and Sir [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] alongside prominent leaders of the Northern Region and Premier [[Ladoke Akintola|Samuel Akintola]] of the [[Western State (Nigeria)|Western Region]], but the plotters struggled to form a central government. Senate President [[Nwafor Orizu]] handed over government control to the [[Nigerian Army|Army]], under the command of another Igbo officer, Major General<ref>{{Cite news|last=Irede|first=Akin|title=Aguiyi-Ironsi: The murder that birthed Nigeria's northern hegemony|work=The Africa Report|date=17 March 2022|url=https://www.theafricareport.com/182958/aguiyi-ironsi-the-murder-that-birthed-nigerias-northern-hegemony/amp/|access-date=23 February 2023|archive-date=23 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223001544/https://www.theafricareport.com/182958/aguiyi-ironsi-the-murder-that-birthed-nigerias-northern-hegemony/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi]]. Later, the counter-coup of 1966, supported primarily by Northern military officers, facilitated the rise of [[Yakubu Gowon]] as military head of state. Tension rose between north and south; [[1966 anti-Igbo pogrom|Igbos in northern cities suffered persecution]] and many fled to the [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern Region]].<ref>Falola and Heaton, ''A History of Nigeria'' (2008) pp 158–59.</ref>[[File:Biafra independent state map-en.svg|thumb|The [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]] in June 1967, when it declared its independence from the rest of Nigeria]]

In May 1967, Governor of the [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern Region]] Lt. Colonel [[C. Odumegwu Ojukwu|Emeka Ojukwu]] declared the region independent from the federation as a state called the [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]], as a result of the continuous and systematically planned attacks against Igbos and those of [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Eastern]] extraction popularly known as 1966 [[1966 anti-Igbo pogrom|pogroms]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Murray|first=Senan|title=Reopening Nigeria's civil war wounds|work=BBC News|date=30 May 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6657259.stm|access-date=28 May 2011|archive-date=5 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305112039/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6657259.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Daly|first=Samuel Fury Childs|title=A History of the Republic of Biafra|date=7 August 2020|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781108887748|isbn=978-1-108-88774-8|s2cid=225266768}}</ref> This declaration precipitated the [[Nigerian Civil War]], which began as the official Nigerian government side attacked Biafra on 6 July 1967, at Garkem. The 30-month war, with a long [[blockade of Biafra]] and its isolation from trade and international relief, ended in January 1970.<ref name="DDRS">''"Background Paper on Nigeria and Biafra, Declassified Documents Reference System''.</ref> Estimates of the [[List of wars by death toll|number of dead]] in the former Eastern Region during the 30-month civil war range from one to three million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Metz|first=Helen Chapin|title=Nigeria: A Country Study – Civil War|publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]|year=1991|url=http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/23.htm|access-date=28 May 2011|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605003652/http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/23.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Britain and the Soviet Union were the main military backers of the Nigerian government, with Nigeria utilizing air support from Egyptian pilots provided by [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]],<ref>{{cite web|title=''The Biafra War and the Age of Pestilence''|url=http://www.litencyc.com/theliterarymagazine/biafra.php|access-date=28 July 2014|publisher=Litencyc.com|archive-date=20 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820081648/https://www.litencyc.com/theliterarymagazine/biafra.php|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>Michael I. Draper, ''Shadows: Airlift and Airwar in Biafra and Nigeria 1967–1970''.</ref> while France and Israel aided the Biafrans. The [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] government, under President [[Mobutu Sese Seko|Joseph-Désiré Mobutu]], took an early stand on the Biafran secession, voicing strong support for the Nigerian federal government<ref>McDonald, Gordon C., ''Area Handbook for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo Kinshasa)'' (1971), p. 263</ref> and deploying thousands of troops to fight against the [[Separatist movements of Nigeria|secessionists]].<ref>Stearns, Jason K. ''[[Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa]]'' (2011), p. 115</ref><ref>Wrong, Michela. ''In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo'' (2000), p. 266</ref>

Following the war, Nigeria enjoyed an [[oil boom]] in the 1970s, during which the country joined [[OPEC]] and received huge oil revenues. Despite these revenues, the military government did little to improve the [[standard of living]], help small and medium businesses, or invest in infrastructure. As oil revenues fueled the rise of federal subsidies to states, the federal government became the centre of political struggle and the threshold of power in the country. As oil production and revenue rose, the Nigerian government became increasingly dependent on oil revenues and international commodity markets for budgetary and economic concerns.<ref>Watts, Michael (1987) ''State, Oil and Agriculture in Nigeria'', Institute of International Studies, University of California, {{ISBN|0-87725-166-5}}.</ref>
The [[1975 Nigerian coup d'état|coup in July 1975]], led by Generals [[Shehu Musa Yar'Adua]] and [[Joseph Nanven Garba|Joseph Garba]], ousted Gowon,{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1pp=42–43|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=81}} who fled to Britain.{{sfn|Derfler|2011|p=82}} The coup plotters wanted to replace Gowon's autocratic rule with a triumvirate of three brigadier generals whose decisions could be vetoed by a [[Supreme Military Council of Nigeria (1966–1979)|Supreme Military Council]]. For this triumvirate, they convinced General [[Murtala Muhammed]] to become military head of state, with General [[Olusegun Obasanjo]] as his second-in-command, and General [[Theophilus Danjuma]] as the third.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=43|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=81}} Together, the triumvirate introduced austerity measures to stem inflation, established a Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, replaced all military governors with new officers, and launched "Operation Deadwood" through which they fired 11,000 officials from the civil service.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=44}}

Colonel [[Buka Suka Dimka]] launched a [[1976 Nigerian coup d'état attempt|February 1976 coup attempt]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Joliba |date=13 February 2015 |title=Failed Coup Attempt of 1976 |url=https://joliba-africa.com/2015/02/13/failed-coup-attempt-of-1976/ |access-date=27 June 2023 |website=Joliba |archive-date=27 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627112021/https://joliba-africa.com/2015/02/13/failed-coup-attempt-of-1976/ |url-status=live }}</ref> during which General Murtala Muhammed was assassinated. Dimka lacked widespread support among the military, and his coup failed, forcing him to flee.{{sfn|Iliffe|2011|p=48}} After the coup attempt, General Olusegun Obasanjo was appointed military head of state.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1pp=48–49|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=85}} Obasanjo vowed to continue Murtala's policies.{{sfnm|1a1=Iliffe|1y=2011|1p=50|2a1=Derfler|2y=2011|2p=85}} Aware of the danger of alienating northern Nigerians, Obasanjo brought General Shehu Yar'Adua as his replacement and second-in-command as [[Vice President of Nigeria|Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters]] completing the military triumvirate, with Obasanjo as head of state and General Theophilus Danjuma as [[Chief of Army Staff (Nigeria)|Chief of Army Staff]], the three went on to re-establish control over the [[Nigerian military juntas of 1966–79 and 1983–99|military regime]] and organized the military's transfer of power programme: [[States of Nigeria|states creation]] and [[Boundary delimitation|national delimitation]], [[Local government areas of Nigeria|local government reforms]] and the [[Constitution of Nigeria#1979 constitution (Second Republic)|constitutional drafting committee]] for a new republic.<ref>African Concord (1990). The New Helmsmen. Concord Press, Ikeja, Lagos. 13 August 1990</ref>